All in divine time

It was Sunday, September 7, 2014 and as my parents, Prowler and I crossed the bridge onto the Outer Banks, we rolled down the windows and all (even Prowler) let out a collective sigh. That bridge always confirmed we had arrived and that pure happiness and peace were about to commence.  We stopped at Trio at MP 4.5 to get cheese and stock up on wine for the week and then continued on our way to South Nags Head. We usually didn't wait this long in the year to come down for vacation but we decided to revolve it around a friend's wedding in Manteo.

We always had four "musts" in choosing a beach house to rent. The house had to:

1. be pet friendly
2. be oceanfront - that means NOTHING between our house and the beach - not the Beach Road, not another house, nothing. We wanted to walk out of our house onto the beach. We wanted to see, hear and smell the ocean from the house at all times.
3. be in S. Nags Head - past MP 17 simply because there were less people and more beach. We gave up the convenience of having restaurants and stores super close but so what? We had a car. The beach was priority!
4. have central air conditioning.

This year's vacation was going to be at Crew's Quarters in South Nags Head.  As we pulled down the long driveway, we weren't exactly thrilled with the looks of the front of the house but as soon as we walked up to the top floor and saw our view, that sealed the deal. Nothing but dunes, sand and the ocean.  We were back at our happy place and all was right with the world. Oh yeah, it was raining but who cares? It's the beach. It wouldn't last for long.  But while it did, we made the best of it and sat at the round wooden table by the window, played my favorite "let's pair wine and cheese" game and, as Dad used to always say, wondered what the poor people were doing.

We had so much fun that week. We went to the aquarium, we ate incredible seafood, we walked the beach, we read books, we relaxed, we walked and played with Prowler. We slept in, we stayed up late, we laughed, we loved and we just treasured every single moment.

We even went to what became our favorite restaurant, Miller's on the Waterfront, twice that week for dinner.  They still have the best filet with jumbo lump crab and hollandaise I've ever had the pleasure of sharing with my more-than-appreciative taste buds. And.... yes, even though it may be touristy and the wait may take forever during the summer, the sunset and the food are worth every second of the wait.

Dad might even have unsuccessfully tried to squeeze the last bit of wine out of our bottle one of those nights. He wasn't successful but my daddy wasn't a quitter and I hate wasting wine so it was worth a try!

Dad and I also might have decided it made perfect sense to take a walk on the beach after a few bottles of wine one of those nights. Mom may have not agreed with our decision but it didn't stop us. We always were a good team in that regard.

We always get sad as the week nears the end but at least this vacation was ending with a wedding!  On Saturday, September 13, a stranger picked me up at the beach house to accompany me to a mutual friend's wedding.  I wasn't going to this wedding alone and the friend who was supposed to go with me bailed, so I coerced the father of the bride into sending over one of his young, good-looking, intelligent, fun but "didn't expect anything" guys to come pick me up and keep me company for the evening.  Not only did that happen but even after sharing hours together at a hot, rainy, humid, outdoor wedding on the sound, with an open bar, I not only got him to dance but we also actually saw each other again and, two years later, threw caution to the wind and moved to the Outer Banks together! (Yes, I'm wearing the father of the bride's bow tie - don't judge me.)

My parents and I always have a wonderful time on these vacations and we always look forward to them. We have stories to share for years to come.  But there was something different about this vacation. Of course, meeting the man I would soon fall in love with and end up spending the rest of my life with was a highlight AND my grandmother's spirit having conversations with us in the beach house kitchen was life changing but there was something more. We sure didn't know it at the time but it was the last family vacation we would ever share. Just a few months later, Dad's cancer would return with a vengeance and the next year he would endure chemo as his only remaining option.

Fast forward to almost five years later.

After all the years that I have been vacationing here, I have been able to find every single house that we rented except for this one - perhaps the most important one. The last one that my family shared. The driveway of the one where that stranger picked me up and changed my life forever. The one that Prowler and I took our last sunrise walks upon. The one house that my heart has been pleading to find. Why couldn't I find it? It didn't just disappear. This house has become so incredibly important for me to find.

Then, this morning, the man who changed my life in 2014, sent me a link to a rental property in S. Nags Head. He found it. I screamed. Tears began to flow like a river and my heart was overwhelmed. As I looked at the photos online, the memories came back, the emotions came back, the smell of the lamb bolognese I spoiled my parents with one night came back, the popping of the cork, the walking on the beach in the moonlight, the sound of the crashing of the waves on the shore came back, my mom's happy laugh came back and my dad's voice saying "Life is Good" resonated in my mind.
Yes, Daddy, life was so good and
 it still is........

All in divine time.

Everything happens when and as it should.